Receptacle for storing and dispensing discs used as game counters or the like



RECEPTAc-LEv Foa STORING Ann 'DISPENSIMI-A DIscs 'USED As GAME couu'mns o3 THE LIKE Filed Apri; 1 7, 1947 0a. 14,1- 1947. J, 55m@ 2,428,997

taime ed. 14, 1194i iiier'riie" rn'sToRim INGLMSCSUSED A THE LIKE D S GAME'COUNTERS OR .relies Seltzer, ohieagi),1111.- Y

part of Ytn'e'f iidf Lg' of Figi, the'cnest .l hips' D1 (SCSQF- fil anend VieW,.1 oQ1ing a hech'es'tl'frorn' anointto thefnjgnt dirigir, wnhehips in au"Crimmit-4 mentsfin't'e wnich'the" chest iedivided'i Fig. risl a seetion, ona largerscale, on line 441i o'fflig'. 1, showing a,fragmentiolthe',emptyehest and` Fig.. eti/'fof alf'ragrnent'lof o'neofl thefsl'ideslfrflifti gm. fehp'sg; showing Yin broken; lirfe'slaihp in' a' ai Ip'sition and .another in` itsiiewered pes E nfrieltiveiyto'theiifting eier nentonfthesldf/ 4 L y ,n y u v lRerering 't 'J -the. dr Wi"'g," ,Irepresentsl a, rectangular L tray' "shallow `1b ofiy'lmernberfV ,of ai, boxer Chest' navi l ning'e'djiid 2,." Themt'eno; of" the tray' is' divided ,nim many i rectangular compartments' by ttl' sets of partitions crossing' eanli"other. set isshovn 'as-Comprising fiilev sturdy partitions 3', 4, 5,6 andf'lv'iparallel to each other and ,t9 thend wellqf ,themen theref-Y tit'ionsy being 'a art; frorni-eah othenand frnrsaid'llen tha'nthe da' oi ,one yof-rthe dises or chips AN to 4be stored ihe-same. The depth of the tray shold vnot be greater than the diameter of the discs and is preferably less. Partitions 3-1 may conveniently reach to the top of the tray. As shown, there are also ve partitions 8, 9, l0, ll and I2 in the second set, these partitions being quite thin and preferably so narrow that their upper edges lie well below the top of the tray.

The spacings between the partitions of the of, the Aen@ en-emp' pertinents between partiti are suh that. each Qdmpart ent dat@ eithrtv'e of meer. sizeg'tlieicornpartm `t sfnXt l the A tra?, and bet'w partiti y size vt'lh'ile'v t Y large enoughfto reei've inve `chip e A onips are usually"orsevera/1^colors,I kerenii for `lexa'rnple; being sets containxi eid', AWifi and blue chips.

ref ehfQf-a h out; .the Slides. @time time. "lining:entirely.:mth-vin the tray, without creating external kprof-'- tuberances.

With the tray full of Ichips, the slides are all" normally in their retracted positions, with they cross bars at the rear of the corresponding compartments, as shown in the left hand half of' Fig. 2 and in all of Fig. 1 except in the case of the front slide; the chips resting on the thin parts 55 of the wedges. When it is desired to take out chips, one r more slides are pulled out, each slide raising all of the chips abo-ve it. In the left half of Fig. 2 the slide is in its normal retracted position, and the chips are close to the bottom of the tray. As the Slide is moved toward the right, the chips begin to 'ride up on the wedge faces, as illustrated by chip A1 in Fig. 5, until they reach the top, as shown by chip A2 in the Fig. 5 and by the three chips in the 'right hand half of Fig. 2. Y

In the drawing, the forward slide has been pulled out, so that six stacks of fifteen chips each have been raised until they protrude well above the rest of the chips. Any one of these stacks may therefore be grasped and lifted out of the tray. If only iive chips are to be takenout, any one of the slides operating in the four transverse rows of small compartments is pulled out, making all of the corresponding five-chip stacks accessible. Should ten similar chips be required, two adjacent slides operating on five-chip stacks are drawn out, so that a set of ten-chip stacks is placed in position for ready removal. In this latter situation, the halves of each ten-chip stack are separated from each other by one of the transverse partitions 9 or l2. By making these partitions thin and loW, the two sections of a stack may be pressed together above the partition that divides it and be lifted out in substantially the same way as though all of the chips were in a tenchip compartment. In a like manner, a stack of twenty chips or of twenty ve chips may be removed by making them available through pulling out, for example, the rst and second slides, or the first three slides, respectively.

The removal of two or three little stacks of like chips at a time is made possible through segregating the chips according to color, each column of little stacks containing chips of only one color; but, if desired, stacks of one color may be intermingled with stacks of one or more different colors and yet permit the ready removal of individual Ve-chip or fifteen-chip stacks of any color.

The weight of ,the chips normally holds the slides in their retracted positions, so that no other means are required for this purpose. When the tray is provided with a lid, the closing of the lid converts the tray into a shallow chest that may be handled without giving any especial thoughtto its contents. Furthermore, by properly shaping the lid, it will prevent the chips from being displaced even though the chest be turned upside down. If the lid be of the inverted tray type, as shown, packs of cards, score pads, etc., may be held therein when not in use. It can thus be seen that I have provided simple and novel means for storing large quantities of chips,V counters or other discs in a manner to permit stacks of various sizes and colors 4orstyles to be quickly removed; thus Inaking it easy to deliver chips in required quantities without counting individual chips, since any counting that `need be done has to do only with precounted stacks.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact details 'thus illustrated and described, but intend to cover all forms and arrangements that come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for storing and dispensing discs, such as chips, used for game counters and the like, comprising a tray the interior of which is divided into compartments arranged in two sets of parallel rows extending crosswise of each other, the dimensions of all compartments transverse to one set of rows being approximately equal to the diameter of one of the discs. and means, including an elevator in each compartment, to cause all of the discs standing on edge in any row or rows of the second set to be raised or lowered at will in unison with each other.

4 ,2.,A device as set forth in claim l, wherein the dimensions of the compartments transverse to the rows of the second set are alike for any given row but are larger in at least one than in another such row.

' 3. A device as set forth in claim l, wherein the width of the compartments in each of two consecutive rows in the second set is equal to the thickness of ve discs so that, when the discs in both of these rows are raised, ten discs may be lifted from the tray while gripped between a thumb and a forenger.

4. A device as set forthin claim 1,'wherein the compartments in two consecutive rows have widths equal, respectively, to the combined thickness of five discs and to a multiple of ve discs.

5. A device of the character ldescribed comprising a tray, vertical partitions arranged in the tray in two sets of spaced, parallel partitions standing at right angles to each other and dividing the interior of the tray into compartments arranged in rows paralleling the partitions of one set, and means, including an elevator in each compartment, to cause discs standing on edge in all of the compartments in any row to be raised or lowered at will in unison with each other.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5, wherein the partitions that separate the rows from each other are thin so that when the discs in a plurality of consecutive rows are raised, those in corresponding compartments may be gripped between a thumb and a forenger and be lifted out of the tray together.

7. A device for storing and dispensing discs, such as chips used for game counters and the like, comprising a tray, vertical partitions disposed in two sets of parallel partitions standing at right angles to each other to divide the interior of the tray into compartments adapted to receive discs standing on edge, slides in the bottom of the tray between and parallel to the partitions of one set, and cams on each slide in such spaced relation that there is one cam device in each compartment; the cams being shaped to serve as elevators to raise all the discs standing above any slide when the latter is moved from one predetermined position to another.

8. A device as set forth in claim 7, wherein the cams are bars, wedge shaped in cross section and each extending across the dimension of the corresponding compartment transverse to the slide.

JULIUS SELTZER. 

